Teenagers
by justwaitingontheworldtochange
Summary: Rick Castle just wants to finish half a school year in one place. But when Kate Beckett and the rest of the gang walk into his life, Castle is thrown into the mystery of his mother's identity and the reason for her departure years ago. And he's only a Junior for God's sake. AU.
1. Chapter 1: The One With the New Boy

**A/N:** Hey guys! So this is an AU about the characters in high school. Inspired by my youngest brother whose first day at his new school is on Monday. He's freaking out, it's adorable. Happy Friday!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

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He is a tuna fish.

A _tiny_ little tuna fish trying to swim in a pool full of sharks.

Rick is in his third school in four years, he's plenty experienced when it comes to fitting in and not sticking out, but he has never felt so alone before in his life.

Bowman Academy is a small school compared to the last few he had been to and everyone here seems to know everyone else, regardless of age or who they hang around. Here at Bowman, it is obvious that he is the new kid.

He's been 'new kid' so long that it might as well be attached to his name.

Richard Castle, New Kid.

The halls are quieter here than at his last school, he decides as he walks to his first class, Pre-Calculus with Mrs. Gates.

Rick feels his heart hammering in his chest and his palms sweating.

He keeps his eyes down on the ground and tries to build some confidence in himself like his father has taught him to.

Rick takes a deep breath.

He can do this. He can make friends at this school.

He is a Castle.

And Castles are not afraid.

Not even of sharks.

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He can already tell that Gates isn't fond of him.

He hands her his transfer sheet and stutters trying to explain his circumstances and all she does is stare at him with her sharp eyes.

"Mr. Castle." she says, pulling off her reading glasses and setting them on her desk,"Introduce yourself to the class."

Rick takes a gulp and looks up at the classroom for the first time since he walked in. The walls are bare except for the one opposite him, which is covered with colorful tessellations that are so bright it hurts his eyes. He curses the Freshman Math curriculum before awkwardly setting his eyes on an empty seat and speaking.

"I'm Rick Castle."

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Gates makes them sit alphabetically, another student named Demming is made to move down a seat so Castle can sit next to a girl in a braid, Beckett.

Demming is sour about having to move and he makes it known while the class takes down notes.

"Gates is a bitch." he says over Rick's head to Beckett, who looks amused. Beckett is some sort of math genius, Rick decides in the first few minutes of sitting next to her. She's already steamrolled through the three pages Gates has mentioned is to be for homework and is spending her time texting instead.

"Don't let her hear you say that, Tom." Beckett says, not even looking up from where her phone is sitting in her lap. It emits a kind of glow that makes her face look sort of mysterious and Castle finds he can't look away. "And she's a good teacher. The only reason you don't like her is 'cause you're failing."

Demming makes a noise of disbelief and returns to writing. Castle himself is hopeless at this subject. He can't, for the life of him, remember a time when he ever enjoyed math, but Gates also makes it at least four times more painful.

She is the kind of teacher who calls on students randomly and Rick isn't chosen. The boy next to him, however, isn't as lucky.

"Mr. Demming." she calls from where she is standing near the board."Could you tell us the vertex of the quadratic?"

Demming freezes and Castle wishes he could help him out.

"Four and negative six?"

"Is that a question or an answer, Mr. Demming?" Gates asks sharply.

"An answer."

"You're wrong." Gates sighs and scans the room,"Anyone else?"

Gates comes back to Demming three more times during the lesson and the blonde boy gets all the questions wrong.

The class isn't sympathetic either. There is loud laughter whenever he makes a mistake, most notably from the back of the room.

"Ryan, Esposito." Gates snaps,"Enough."

Castle looks sideways at Demming, leaning backwards in his seat, and tries to stifle a laugh. The blonde boy is glaring a hole through the whiteboard and muttering curse words under his breath. All because he couldn't tell the teacher what the vertex of a parabola was.

Rick considers telling him that his book is on the wrong page.

Demming sees him looking and sneers.

"What do you want, asshole?"

So much for making friends.

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He sits next to a loud Latino boy in English who seems to be wearing a dog tag.

Weird.

"Yo, Castle." the boy says when Rick takes a seat,"I'm Javi. Pretty sick I get to sit next to you now and not Patty Callahan anymore."

Javi jerks his head towards the girl on Rick's left whose body odor seems particularly...noticeable.

"Cool." he replies, opening up his binder while his seat mate takes out a bag of chips and begins eating.

After a few moments, Rick decides he should probably make more of an effort in the conversation, but people who try to talk to others are labelled clingy and try-hards. Sadly, he still hasn't been able to successfully develop a way of socializing that eliminates the labels all together.

So he tries for nonchalant and cool, almost feigning indifference."What do you guys do for fun around here?"

Okay, is that weird?

Do people still say that? Because he _just_ picked that up from a crappy Netflix movie.

Javi snorts.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll know all about what makes Bowman fun by the end of the week."

Rick tries not to sound too hopeful.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. Tell you what." Javi pops a Sun Chip into his mouth and chews thoughtfully,"I'll take you under my wing, show you around. It'll be dope."

Sick.

Progress made.

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**A/N:** I know there are so many of these out there, but thanks for giving it a chance. And reviewswould be amazing. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: The One With the Blonde

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Castle.**

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His first lunch break at Bowman is well...eventful.

Javi pushes him to a table by the window and introduces him to a couple wearing matching 'Aye He's Mine', 'Aye She's Mine' t-shirts.

Cute.

"What up, bro?" the other guy says, executing a complicated handshake with Javi.

"Nothin' much, man." he turns to Castle,"Ryan, this is..."

Javi makes a gesture that Rick frowns at for a moment before understanding.

"Oh!" he reaches across the gap and takes Ryan's hand,"Castle. Rick Castle."

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Ryan's girlfriend is named Jenny. She's on the petite side with sticks for arms.

Castle wonders where she puts the fries and hamburger that she is currently devouring.

"So." Ryan says, and Rick places his sandwich down on his brown paper bag, folds his hands, anticipating a question."Where you from, Castle?"

"I'm not she sure." he says, thinking of the best way to put it,"My mother...left when I was young and my Dad never talks about it."

Ryan and Javi share a look.

"Well," Javi says,"What about your birth certificate? What does that say?"

Rick shrugs and takes a bite of his sandwich.

The two boys share a look.

"Woah, Castle." Ryan leans forward in Rick's direction,"This is the most exciting thing that's happened at Bowman since-"

"Better be finishing that sentence with 'Lanie's fine ass came into town'."

Castle doesn't have time to react before he is in the middle of a very, _very_ cozy sandwich between Beckett from Math class and whoever Lanie is.

"Of course, Lane." Ryan assures her,"I was."

The dark-skinned beauty seems satisfied with that.

"Have you guys met Castle?" Javi does the gesture thing again and this time, Rick knows exactly what to do.

The girl named Beckett turns to him.

"Kate Beckett. You look like I just arrested you for murder, you okay?"

Castle is not okay.

He is seeing two of Kate Beckett.

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Beckett waves a hand in front of his face.

"Hey!" she says, shaking his shoulders,"You alright?"

He sees her clearly, Beckett. And then over her right shoulder, almost an exact replica of her is walking by.

"There's..." he splutters, pointing behind her,"there's...two o-of you."

The girl turns so fast her braid almost whips Rick across the face. The entire table is also peering over Kate's shoulders for a look.

Rick doesn't know if it's bad or good when they all burst out laughing.

"That's just my Mom, Castle." Kate says, rolling her eyes.

"Why is your Mom here?!"

"She's the principal, you idiot. Now tell me what the exciting thing was." she adds, turning her attention back to Ryan.

Castle is about to jump into their conversation, but thinks better of it and introduces himself to Lanie instead, who smiles at him.

"Just me, Rick?"

"What?"

"My Mom's not behind me or-"

There is laughter at the table again and this time, he knows it's good laughter.

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"Wait, so, when exactly did your mother leave you? What was your last memory of her?" Beckett fires off questions like a pro while simultaneously eating fries.

"Before I went to school is all that I remember." he replies, unsure why she's even asking questions in the first place.

"So that's before your memory of Boston."

What?

What is up with this girl?

"Wait, you remember that?"

"We've only been talking five minutes, Rick." Javi says, tapping the face of his watch,"Besides, Beckett memory is like a vice. It holds on to everything. Her Mom literally remembers every instance I've been to her office since freshman year."

Ryan nods in agreement.

"Scary stuff, man."

Beckett scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Okay so before Boston-"

"Slut Alert. Slut Alert. I repeat, Slut Alert." Lanie's sharp hiss shuts everyone up for a moment and Castle has to lean around Lanie to look in the direction the rest of the table were pointedly looking away from. Javi and Beckett are deep in conversation about the lunch menu, Ryan is wolfing down his burger and Lanie engages Jenny in a very animated, squeal-filled nail-polish comparison.

But they still came.

_They_ are two girls walking, no, sauntering to towards their table. One, a blonde in an impossibly tight shirt and the other a brunette in equally tight-fitting jeans.

"Castle, look away." Beckett whispers at him out of the corner of her mouth,"Do not make eye-contact, do not-"

Too late.

"Well if it isn't the principal's daughter and her suck-up friends."

"Gotta say, Gina and Paula, I'm amazed." Lanie drawls and rests her head on her hand."Thought Slutsville was on lockdown ever since Gates got wind of that STD scare. Congratulations on getting out of there."

"Shut up, Parrish."

"Hey, I'm just sayin'. Not like you haven't tried all the rides before..."

A guffaw leaves Castle's mouth before he can stop it. Gina turns her attention to him.

"Hey." the blonde girl purrs, reaching across Lanie's body to lay a hand on Rick's shoulder,"I'm Gina. Never seen you in this neck of the woods before, you new?"

She finishes her sentence by popping a finger into her mouth.

Shit, that's hot.

"Yeah." he says confidently, his chest puffing out involuntarily,"Not from your neck of the woods."

Lanie throws Gina's arm off of him.

"What do you want, Gina?"

The blonde smiles at Castle, he smiles back.

"Oh, just inviting a select few to my party on Saturday night. You wanna come, new-"

"Oh. Is it Bring Your Own Condom or are they provided this time?" Beckett butts in, her elbow pushing Rick out of the way as she leans across the table to look at Gina and Paula.

Paula narrows her eyes, Beckett doesn't flinch.

Man, what was he thinking?

Best first day _ever_.

"You're all invited." Gina says."Especially you, new boy."

Gina blows a kiss towards him and Rick feels a little bit faint as he watches her walk away.

Beckett and Lanie make barfing noises in unison and then high-five over Rick's head when they realize their synchronicity.

Bowman is the _best_ school ever.

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**A/N:** Thanks for those of you who followed this story! Of course I have a general idea of where this fic is going, but I'm always open to suggestions. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3: The One With a Note

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The next few days are a blur. Math and English are his favorite subjects by far because of having Beckett, Javi and Ryan in Math and of course, sitting next to Javi in English. He doesn't know anyone in his other two classes.

Chemistry is his worst subject. Rick is made to sit next to the smartest kid in class by the end of the first day in order to minimize the damage.

World Civ is a different story. It's something he excels at and Rick thoroughly enjoys the lesson except for the fact that he's been made to sit with Demming again.

He is _never_ going to like this guy.

Not when the other boy constantly oversteps boundaries with people around him. He took a swig of Beckett's coffee in Math the other day without asking, he grabs Lena Chang's, the girl who sits on his other side, pencil to use everyday before class without ever expressing gratitude.

Jerk.

But otherwise, Rick is enjoying Bowman more than the other schools he's been at before. It crosses his mind that it's because at this one, he has managed to befriend some people.

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"You guys gonna go to the party?" Ryan asks while they are walking home one day.

Javi is at the front of the group, setting the pace. Lanie is slightly behind him, trying to annoy him into carrying her books for her and Ryan and Rick are walking side by side, bringing up the rear. Jenny's father picks her up from school and Beckett, of course, has to stay later and wait for her mother.

For his part, this is the first time Rick has walked home with someone since elementary school when Sophia Turner lived right next door and he trailed behind her until they got there.

He guesses it doesn't really count.

"Probably." is Javi's answer.

"I hate Gina and Paula, but hey, free food and some good dancing. Can't go wrong with that." Lanie looks at Rick for a moment."You, Castle?"

"I don't know." he replies, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't blame you at all." Lanie pats his shoulder, the same one Gina had caressed during that first lunch time,"Gina's a little bit scary."

They all laugh for a moment.

"Is Beckett going?" Ryan directs his question to Lanie.

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not that girl's baby sitter. I do know her Mom's making her do a bunch of volunteer stuff on Saturday, though. Why you askin'?"

Javi turns around for a moment.

"He's trying to gauge what Jenny's level of comfort at that party would be like." he smirks and Ryan hits him in the arm.

"Is it such a crime that I want to look out for my girlfriend?"

Castle smiles as the two boys exchange insults all the way home and laughs to himself when the three of them wave from the sidewalk as he enters his house.

He's made friends.

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His father is sat at the kitchen table in a suit when he comes home.

"Hey, Dad." Rick says by way of greeting,"We got any of that bacon left from this morning?"

His father merely points to the refrigerator.

Rick sticks his head almost all the way inside the thing before he finally finds it.

"How was school?" his Dad takes a sip of coffee while Rick heats up the bacon in the microwave.

"It's good." he replies."Better than the last one."

"Good." Joe Castle folds up his newspaper before saying to his son,"I have to leave in about half an hour, wanna do a round of Black Ops?"

Rick pretends to consider the offer.

"I want the good controller." he says finally.

"Not if I get there first."

It's the first time the two of them has had fun in this house since they moved in two weeks ago.

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Rick is out raking leaves early next morning.

His father is asleep, having just gotten home from work and he didn't want to be inside the house for long in case any noise he makes wakes up his Dad.  
Rick is halfway done with his second pile of leaves when somebody call out his name.

"Rick Castle!"

He looks around for a moment before spotting the culprit and waving back.  
Kate Beckett is walking down the sidewalk casually, a cup of coffee in hand. She pulls her scarf on tighter before approaching.

"Mornin', Beckett." Rick says as she walks up the driveway.

"Morning, new kid."

"Wow." he says in mock hurt,"It's been almost a week and I'm still new kid?"

"Oh please." Beckett rolls her eyes,"It's gonna take like, a year before any of us calls you by your actual name."

He can't help but return the smile she gives him.

"So um." he returns to raking leaves or looking at his feet. Damn Kate Beckett for having such a nice smile,"You going to that party?"

"Probably not."

"Oh why?"

"I'd much rather stay home and watch the new episode of Temptation Lane on my DVR." he senses a hint of teasing in her voice and he doesn't like it.

"Are you being sarcastic right now, Beckett?" he says, poking her in the ribs,"Because Temptation Lane is my favorite show of all time."

She snickers and he curses the early morning for making everything she does adorable.

"Okay, so maybe I want to have a Nebula 9 marathon with my Mom."

He wrinkles his nose.

Nebula 9, seriously?

"Are you joking, Beckett? Please be joking."

"Are you kidding? You don't like Nebula 9?" she's looking at him as if he's just announced his hatred for babies and cute animals."It's the best show ever."

They argue about it on his front lawn the rest of the morning and later, during math, Beckett tosses him a note that makes his legs almost give out.

_Maybe you'll change your mind after you see my Lieutenant Chloe outfit._

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**A/N:** I would really appreciate some feedback, you guys. Even if it's a simple** '**like' or 'dislike'. Happy Holidays!


	4. Chapter 4: The One With a Cellphone

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He doesn't go to the party.

It's a Saturday night, practically custom-made for a marathon of his favorite Batman Trilogy and frankly, parties aren't really his scene.

His Dad goes out, a shopping errand, and Rick is left alone on his couch with Christopher Nolan's masterpiece of a series.

He doesn't know if he's pleased or disappointed when nobody calls him to persuade him to the party.

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Math on Monday is somewhat of a disaster. Rick manages to fail the first quiz he's ever written for Gates and she makes sure he knows it.

Beckett pats his arm in consolation.

"Did you end up at the party Saturday?" she asks while fiddling with her phone under the table.

"No." he replies,"Stayed home to watch TV."

She scoffs.

"What, like you were any better?" he shakes his head,"Nebula 9."

"I was, actually." she responds, a smirk on her face,"Went out shopping with my mother. And shut up about Nebula 9."

"Beckett, your Mom's the school Principal, you don't exactly get cool points there."

This time when she makes contact with his arm, he flinches.

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Lanie asks him the most basic question at lunch.

"Do you have a cellphone, Castle?"

He stares at her for a moment, dazed.

A cellphone.

Why had he never thought of asking his father for one?

"No." Beckett supplies for him as she slides into the seat across the table."He doesn't. Or else he'd be addicted to that game about the stupid birds."

"Wrong adjective." Ryan interjects, spooning yogurt into his mouth,"It's about Angry Birds and it's the coolest game ever."

Beckett rolls her eyes.

"Bro, I got a pal who can hook you up." Javi says, thumbing dials on his own phone,"Comes pretty cheap."

"Don't listen to Espo." Jenny says and Rick physically has to look around before realizing the voice came from her.

"Yeah, he's not the most reliable." Lanie seems to be contemplating something."You got any extra dough for a legit phone?"

Rick shrugs.

"Do you have a job?"

He shakes his head.

"Oh forget it," Beckett rolls her eyes and pops another strawberry into her mouth,"His only hope is asking his father."

Yeah.

That'll be a party.

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He doesn't know how it happens.

It's a Saturday.

The first month at Bowman flies by almost without him realizing it. The second is almost halfway over when his father hands him a box.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Open it." his Dad urges him, knocking their shoulders together.

Rick doesn't need telling twice.

He tears into the wrapping paper and almost jumps in joy when he sees what's under it.

"You like it?" his father asks, nudging him."I know it's not the latest version, but it's a good starter, don't you think?"

Rick nods, his mouth dry.

"Da-Dad." he stammers, looking at the phone that he's been dying to get his hands on for the better part of a month,"Thanks."

The older man merely ruffles his hair.

"Hurry up and learn how to use it, son."

So he does.

He looks up Javier Esposito in the phone book and dials the number as quickly as his fingers could manage.

"Hi." he hears Javi's voice on the other end.

"Hey," he says maybe a little too loudly,"It's Rick. Rick Castle."

"Man." Javi says,"You gotta stop using your last name like that, you're the only Rick I know."

Castle feels something light take residence in his chest.

"I got a phone." he explains.

"Yeah, yeah." Javi sounds impatient,"I gathered. You wanna hang out? Ryan and I are gonna play some Madden today."

So that's how Rick Castle ends up on the floor of Javi's bedroom, controller in hand, for the rest of the afternoon.

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Ryan is a cheater.

"There is no way you killed more zombies than me." Castle says, dropping the controller at his feet. "No way."

Javi pats him on the back consolingly.

"He's got an aptitude for zombie games." Javi says, grimacing,"Must be 'cause he's deathly afraid of them."

"Am not." Ryan whines, kicking the back of Javi's seat, "Stop trying to make my win less legitimate."

"Wow, good vocab word. Mrs. Shaw would be proud of you."

Castle smiles as the two begin to wrestle.

The smile's still on his face as he leaves.

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**A/N: **So this is short a short one, and I promise as the gang gets to know Castle a bit more, they'll start uncovering more about the mystery that is his family. Stay tuned. Please review and thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: The One With a Call

**A/N:** I'm baaack! Sorry this took so long, Australia is a crazy fun place. The working title for this chapter was "The One in Which Gates has a soul". Enjoy!

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Rick is absolutely hopeless at Pre-Calculus. He fails three more quizzes before Gates calls him over to her desk after class.

"Mr. Castle." She begins. Rick doesn't meet her eyes. Mrs. Victoria Gates scares the crap out of him. It didn't help that during the walk home yesterday, Javi and Kev both agreed that she could probably turn people into stone with her stare ala Medusa.

"Yes, sir?" He stammers.

_Oh, crap._

Gates merely raises an eyebrow at that.

"You have failed four quizzes so far. What are we going to do about that?" Rick has to admire her bluntness.

"I don't know, Mrs. Gates."

"Well, Mr. Castle, what I did is I phoned home." She pulls an extra worksheet out from her bag and hands it to him, "I know you're new and I know that your peers, for some reason beyond my ability to understand, value apathy towards school work, but Mr. Castle, there is never any harm in trying."

Rick nods once, his head already pounding at the thought of his father's anger waiting for him at home.

Gates sighs.

"You may go."

He nods again and gets the hell out of there.

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"Dude," Javi says, pounding him on the back with a closed fist,"don't even worry about it."

"Yeah," Ryan adds, "it's just Pre-Calculus."

"That's the problem." Rick groans. "It's _Pre-Calculus_."

"You know, Castle, there are worse things in life." Lanie says.

"Yeah?" He challenges. "Name one."

"Take Beckett for example." Lanie examines her nails as she is walking and talking and Rick is slightly impressed. "Yesterday, she had split ends and a chipped nail."

"Lanie." Rick says, "I'm failing Pre-Calculus."

"I'm just sayin' it ain't the only problem on Earth." Lanie shoots back.

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His Dad is waiting for him when he gets home.

"Hi, Dad." Rick says.

_Eyes down. Eyes down._

"I got some calls from your school."

Rick looks up.

"Some?"

"Yes. Mrs. Gates called to tell me about your terrible Math skills and then called again to make sure I knew you were still passing."

"I'm passing?" Rick asks, bewildered.

"Barely is what she said." His father nods.

For the first time since coming home, Rick meets his father's eyes. He sees anger brewing on the surface and fears the worst.

"I'm sorry, Dad." he says.

"We all have our downfalls." Joe replies. "I have to get to work. Might be gone a few days."

"A few days?" Rick echoes.

"There's some business that needs finishing in Chicago." He ruffles Rick's hair and salutes to him before closing stepping out of the house.

Rick almost collapses in relief.

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Rick spends lunch the next day contemplating.

"Hey." Beckett says, nudging him. "You alright?"

"Fine." He says shortly. She gives him a look, but lets it go.

Rick is caught up in trying to find a way past his almost failing Pre-Calc grade. Maybe if he stopped going to Javi and Ryan's game nights...

No, _stop right there_, Richard Castle.

Lanie sliding into the seat next to him then is perfect, as the sound of her tray hitting the table distracts him.

"So," Lanie says, "I don't know if you know this, Castle, but I'm the Head of the Organizing Committee for School Events."

Everyone at the table, except for Rick, groans.

"Lanie." Beckett says, "You said we didn't have to join the Committee this year."

"And you don't have to." Lanie gestures like she is asking the table for some calm, "I just want some ideas for the dance, that's all."

"Zombies." Javi says and promptly high-fives both Ryan and Rick.

Lanie rolls her eyes.

"Glow Sticks?" Beckett asks, spooning some yogurt into her mouth.

"Winter Wonderland." Jenny throws in.

"We did Glow Sticks last year and Winter Wonderland the year before." Lanie says patiently. "Anymore?"

Once again, Beckett digs her elbow into his ribs.

Rick coughs and Lanie turns to him expectantly.

"Um, Halloween." He blurts out.

"Halloween was a week ago." Lanie's exasperation is evident in her tone. And beside him, Beckett lets out a small laugh.

"Seriously," Lanie looks around,"I need a theme. You people have been to enough dances to know that if it flunks, everyone knows whose fault it is."

Rick remembers attending a dance at one of his old schools. he went with a girl named Kyra and remembers how much fun it was. He knows there was something different about it, but can't quite describe it.

"What about that dance where the girl asks the guy?" Beckett suggests and Rick nods at Lanie enthusiastically, yes that was it. Kyra had asked him and not the other way around.

"Yes!" Lanie exclaims, reaching over Rick to hug Beckett."I love you, you get a free ticket."

When Lanie leaves, Beckett goes back to shooting him looks and he goes back to ignoring it.

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Posters for the dance are up by second period the next day. Rick spots Lanie admiring it on his way to Math and he wonders what this is going to mean for him. He knew three girls in the entire school and while he knows that if he ends up going with either Beckett or Lanie, it would be extremely fun, he also knows they are probably going to ask other people. These worries slip his mind as soon as class begins, though. He needs to focus, failing at anything wouldn't do.

_Especially_ because he's a Castle.

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"Mr. Castle!"

Rick drags himself to Gates's desk and prepares to be scolded again.

"I studied for this one, I swear." he says before she can open her mouth.

"I could tell, you got a C plus." Gates fishes another piece of paper from her bag and Rick grimaces. She had taken to giving him worksheets after class for practice and he's done them all, but doesn't particularly enjoy them. He takes the sheet from her and looks it over.

"Uh, Mrs. Gates? What is this?"

"That's the Tutoring Contact Sheet." Gates tells him, "Every one of those exceptional students have signed up to be a tutor, I thought I'd give you first pick."

"Thank you, sir! I mean - ma'am. Thank you!"

Gates only waves her hand at him and he takes it as a cue to leave.

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"Hello?"

"Hi, Beckett!" he says happily.

"Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"How'd you get my number?"

Oh right, Beckett's home phone is secret because her Mom's the principal.

"I need a tutor." Rick says.

"Wow Gates is quick with that Tutoring Program." Beckett sounds impressed."I had no idea you needed one, Rick."

"I don't, really. I'm getting a healthy fifty-one point two."

She laughs.

"Okay, well how about we sort the details out tomorrow? It's getting pretty late."

"What, ten-thirty is late for you?"

"Shut up."

"I will if you bring me some candy while you tutor me."

"I'll bring you licorice." she bargains.

They are both silent for a moment before he replies.

"Sounds good."

"Alright. 'Night, Castle."

"Until tomorrow." he replies and she snorts before hanging up.

One moment later, his phone rings.

"Beckett, you miss me already?" He asks smugly, almost certain it was her number that flashed up on his screen.

At the same time, the girl at the other end says,

"Hi, Rick? I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me."

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**A/N:** So there you have it! Let me know what you think please! Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed or favorited this story, there will be more, I promise :)


	6. Chapter 6: The One With Pre-Dance Drama

**A/N:** Hi all, I'm planning to update once or twice every week. That may just be me being ambitious, but I'd like to try it.

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.

For a moment, Rick doesn't react. His breath stops and his body seems to lose function because _what_?

_What is going on?_

"Sorry?" he asks, unsure if he's heard correctly.

"I asked if you wanted to go to the dance with me? I hope you don't mind that Jenny gave me your phone number. We're in theatre together and she mentioned that you were new and I just broke up with my boyfriend and I'd really appreciate it if-"

"Wow. Awesome, Jen's the best." Rick says, pleased that the third girl he knew at school was looking out for him.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. One time, we went to Seattle for a theatre camp and the two of us had the best time-"

Rick laughs, he can't help but be, well, _charmed_ by this girl.

"Sorry," she says,"I babble when I get nervous."

He smiles and chuckles.

"If you're as captivating on the stage as you are on the phone I'm sure you'll be in Hollywood in no time."

_What_? He asks himself, cursing internally, _where did that line come from, High School Musical?_

She laughs though and he finds himself smiling again.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I didn't quite catch your name."

She laughs again and he is amazed at the sheer energy of it.

"I'm Meredith." she says, "Meredith Harper."

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.

.

"She's incredible!" Rick exclaims. "I've never talked to someone and just been amazed by them before you know?"

Kate Beckett stares at him from overtop of her coffee tumbler and raises her eyebrows. It's seven in the morning and Beckett is standing in his driveway, Rick has his hands in the pockets of his coat and she's got her gloved hands wrapped around her coffee. It's become a routine of theirs after two and a half months. She walks to his house in the mornings and they then walk to school together at seven-thirty.

"I mean she's got such a big personality and so much to say and I'm amazed by it!" he smiles at her, well he attempts to, but what comes out is more of a big goofy grin.

Beckett smiles.

"I take it you're going to the dance with her then?"

"Did I have a choice? It's like being offered a Twinkie or a deep-fried treat." Rick shakes his head. "I didn't have a chance to say no."

"I doubt you even tried to deny her." Beckett smirks. "Gotta give you props though, Castle, you got asked by one of the prettiest girls in school."

Rick puffs his chest out and gives her another grin.

She laughs.

"I've never seen you this animated before."

Her eyes twinkle and Rick's grin widens, he's never going to get tired of seeing Beckett in the early morning light.

"I'm glad we do this, Beckett."

"Do what?"

"Hang out."

"Well," she says dryly, "you better enjoy it 'cause next time we hang out, Pre-Calculus is gonna be joining the party."

He laughs and tugs at her scarf teasingly.

He's never felt so free in his life.

.

.

.

"Bro." Javi bumps fists with him in English, "Heard you got a date. Score."

"Who're you going with?" Rick asks.

"Lanie and I always pair up." Javi's smile is almost predatory,"It works, she doesn't have a date to worry about while still having one and I get a free ticket into a room full of hot chicks."

"Dude," Rick says, holding up a hand for a high-five. "Score."

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.

The first time he lays eyes on Meredith Harper, she's on stage. He's with Ryan and the other boy tilts his head towards the redhead as soon as they enter.

Rick can't stop himself from grinning again. She's pretty, she's got a larger than life personality and she's perfect.

Perfect.

He's completely captivated and goes to watch the theatre club with Ryan for the rest of the week.

.

.

.

They go out Saturday night.

Rick wears a nice shirt and jeans and she wears a dress with a tie around her waist.

They watch a movie and he gets to put his arm around her and walk her home at the end of the night.

She gives him a kiss at her doorstep. It's only the second time in his entire life that a girl has kissed him and it's an awkward-teeth-clashing-nose-bumping type of kiss but he doesn't care.

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"Rick." Meredith says during one for her rehearsal breaks. "I'm going to wear gold to the dance."

"That's good." he replies.

"Good." she says, kissing his cheek.

"Break a leg."

She laughs and it echoes around the auditorium.

"Just a rehearsal, Rick."

"Closest you'll get to the real thing."

She kisses him full on the mouth this time and he stares at her while she walks away.

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.

"Beckett," he says in the middle of their first tutoring session with a piece of licorice hanging out of his mouth,"Why did Meredith tell me the color of her dress?"

Beckett glares at him.

"Castle, can you focus please?"

"It's just-it seems like a weird thing to say you know? Am I supposed to do something about it?" He leans across the table and pleads with her using his eyes.

"You should probably get a tie of the same color." she finally responds. "Now back to parabolas."

"You're the best, Beckett."

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.

.

His Dad comes home from Chicago after a week. He greets Beckett and summons his accommodating and parent-of-the-year self that Rick remembers from his elementary school days.

"You kids keep on studying, I'll just be upstairs. Thank you for your help, Kate." Joe Castle says at the bottom of the stairs, his sunglasses still on.

"Sure, Dad." Rick fake-salutes at him.

"It's not a problem, Mr. Castle." Beckett adds.

Later on, while the two of them are having dinner, his Dad turns to Rick.

"Kate your girlfriend?"

Rick just laughs,

"No, no. She's just a friend."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Dad, the girl I like is named Meredith." Rick gulps down some water. "How was business?"

"Slow. At least they had a Jujitsu gym on the ground floor. I took one sparring session and got absolutely creamed."

"That's cool. Did you take week-long lessons?"

"Just a day. Add that with my kickboxing that I usually do and I thought I was golden." his Dad grins. "But this guy threw me around. It's like I fought an international spy for three days."

Rick laughs. The idea of Joe Castle getting thrown around was absurd to him.

"Are we going to stay here for a while?" he asks, holding his Dad's gaze, "I like it here. I've made friends."

Joe looks thoughtful.

"I hope so, son."

.

.

.

Lanie is pleased with the response that Sadie's is getting and she tells them so at lunch the day before the dance.

"I am so excited, you guys." she squeals while Ryan and Jenny reaffirms her belief that the dance will be the most kick-ass one they've done so far.

Beckett merely smiles and nods.

"Oh hey Kate." Lanie pushes Rick's head back in order to get a look at her best friend. "Who are you planning on going with?"

"Well," Kate doesn't meet Lanie's eyes, "I asked Will."

The table falls silent.

_Who?_

"Beckett." Javi says simply. "I don't like this."

Rick's eyes are going back and forth, gauging everyone's reaction.

"It's none of your business." she replies sharply before apologizing. "Sorry, I know how you guys feel about him and-"

"No, we don't have any feeling towards him." Jenny says and Lanie nods empathically. "We just don't like what he did."

Beckett clears her throat.

"He's promised. To...try and I've always been a fix-it type of girl instead of a go-out-and-get-a-new-one type."

Lanie breaks the silence.

"That's your decision. We'll go along with whatever you want."

"Yeah." Ryan echoes.

As lunchtime ends, Rick is left to wonder two things.

_Who is this Will and why does he have such a strong hold on Beckett?_

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**A/N: **I would love to hear from all of you! Please let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7: The One With a Dance

**A/N:** Here it is, folks! It's a little longer than normal, but who's complaining?;)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Everything you recognize belongs to Andrew Marlowe and ABC.**

Enjoy!

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Rick is thrilled.

He is absolutely thrilled that his father didn't have a shift tonight. Instead of walking to Meredith's, Joe Castle lent him the Ferrari.

The Ferrari.

How cool is that?

He is early. At least twenty minutes when he gets to her street and Rick takes his time looking for a spot. As luck would have it, there is one right out front. He sits in the driver's seat, hands still clutching the steering wheel, gold tie pressed atop his rapidly beating heart.

_Calm down, Castle._

Rick supposes this is his first formal date. Sure he and Meredith had gone to the movies a few times and they hung out after school most days before Rick had to go home for tutoring, but they'd never even really talked, save for their first conversation on the phone. Rick doesn't complain about it though. He gets to make out with her a lot and it's really really fun. Sometimes she does things that make his blood rush south-

He flinches. His dad had given him the talk before he was able to leave. And it was not a memory he would like to relive anytime soon.

He takes a deep breath, looks at his watch and repeats. After five minutes, his fingers are so clammy that they start to slip on the steering wheel. He wipes his hands on his pants, reaches across the middle console for the roses sitting in the passenger seat and exits the car.

.

.

.

He stands on the doorstep for what feels like an hour before he musters up the courage to ring the doorbell. Truthfully, he would have stood there a while longer staring at the intricate carvings on the door of the Harper home had the sprinkler not burst into life.

Meredith's father, he assumes, opens the door. His eyebrows, thick and greying, rise.

"You must be Richard Castle." He says, holding out his hand. Rick takes it and fights the urge to wince. The man has a strong grip.

"Mr. Harper." he says, smiling.

"Come in, Richard."

"Thank you, sir."

Rick follows Mr. Harper into a hallway that leads to the living room. He notices that the walls are not only lined with pictures of Meredith as a child, but lined with pictures of Meredith as a child _always on some sort of stage_.

"Meredith'll be ready soon." Mrs. Harper appears at the end of the hallway, at the sound of her voice, Rick's eyes are torn away from a picture of Meredith's "first bike ride" according to the caption, at a pageant in Las Vegas. Rick had met her before at one of Meredith's after-school rehearsals

"Hi, Mrs. Harper." he says, letting the redheaded woman pull him into a brief embrace.

"You hear that, Richard?" Mr. Harper claps him on the back. "Looks like you'll be spending some quality time with us."

.

.

.

"She's on a stage in _every_ picture in her house." he hisses at Ryan while Jenny and Meredith are busy talking about their dresses with a group of other girls.

"Well." Ryan says. "I don't see why it's so weird."

Rick gives him a look.

"Ryan, it's weird." he says finally.

"Okay, then."

They stand around for a minute before realizing that the group would not be done talking anytime soon.

"Oh yeah, Linda had a wardrobe malfunction on the way here it's a long-ass story." Ryan says offhandedly. "Don't ask." he adds when Rick's mouth opens.

"I was just going to ask where everyone else is."

By everyone, he really meant: point out this Will that everyone went crazy about at lunch yesterday.

Ryan doesn't catch on.

"I'm not so sure 'bout everyone, but I know where Beckett, Javi and Lanie are." Ryan slips his hands into his pockets and grins. "Javi's all over that techie-girl from Math. Her date left her unattended too long. Lanie's next to the DJ complaining about song choices and Beckett is right there."

Rick looks at the direction that Ryan is indicating with a tilt of the head.

_Kate Beckett looks gorgeous._

_Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous._

He tells himself that it's normal that his jaw drops open a little bit at the sight of her. He _did_ do a double-take when he saw Jenny and his eyes _did_ widen when he saw Lanie, so this isn't an overreaction of any sort. Not at all.

She's dancing with a tall blonde boy with the square-est jaw Rick has ever seen.

"Is that-?"

"That is indeed Will Sorenson."

"Who is he?"

"He's a douchebag that moved across the state to a private school last year." Ryan turns to him with an almost sad smile. "He didn't tell Beckett until the day he was leaving."

Before Rick can react, someone slips a hand over reach of his eyes.

"Guess who." Meredith whispers.

Rick laughs. And it sounds forced even to his own ears.

"I think I know when it's you, Mer."

He turns to give her a kiss on the corner of her mouth and she beams at him.

"Let's dance."

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.

.

They dance for a while.

Pretty soon, Rick's feet start to get numb from all the times Meredith steps on him and his shoulder sore from her laying her head on it.

After the seventh song, she sees Jenny in the crowd and the two of them go off to the bathroom together and grab some punch. Rick and Ryan are left sitting at one of the tables beside the dance floor.

Rick loosens his tie.

"Man, dances are a lot of work."

"Tell me about it." the other boy says. "Jenny's always up for a video game night, though, so this is just me doing the same."

"You two are great, you know that?" Rick says.

Ryan smiles in return. The warmth of it disappears in mere seconds, however.

"Beckett and Will are coming this way." he says, jaw set. "I can't even believe that son of a-"

"Hey guys."

Rick turns and smiles at Beckett, and beside her, her date.

"Will Sorenson." Squarejaw says, hand held out. Rick takes it.

"Rick Castle."

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.

.

At the end of the night, Rick drops Meredith off at home before coming back to the school to help take the decorations down.

He tries to hide his disappointment at how the dance went for the two of them because he still really likes Meredith and he really wants to her to be his girlfriend. To be quite honest, he had thought about asking her in the middle of the dance floor during a slow song about making them official, but by the third song, his main goal became survival and damage control.

"Thanks for tonight, Rick." she says as he opens the door for her. "I had a great time."

That makes one of us, he thinks.

Instead of voicing it, he kisses her.

"Goodnight, Meredith."

She giggles and he waits until she's inside her house before walking back to the driver's side of the car. Rick rolls up his sleeves, untucks his shirt and ditches the tie before getting into the car and texting his dad that he will be home later.

He's looking forward to hearing about Javi's exploits after the night he's had.

.

.

.

When he gets out of the car, he is greeted by Beckett leaning on a _motorcycle_ and Sorenson practically leaning on Beckett.

"Turnster Prep was a great opportunity." Sorenson says and Rick stays still, his car door halfway open, debating whether or not to interrupt the conversation.

"I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just...saying it was a choice." Beckett crosses her arms. "That didn't include me."

"You could have come."

Beckett says something that Rick doesn't quite catch and his gut clenches because whatever she just said causes Sorenson to get closer to her if that's even possible.

"Didn't stop me from missing you. Missing us." the boy says. "Sundays at the park. Those ridiculous neon ice skates at the Leisure Centre."

"I'll have you know that those skates are awesome."

Rick is starting to feel a little uneasy now. Beckett is so obviously still enamoured by this guy and very soon, Rick knows he better interrupt or there will be something other than talking to be interrupted.

"Wasn't the skates." Sorenson says And he hears Beckett's small gasp.

_Seriously? This guy has game._

"Will, I-"

Rick freezes when Beckett's voice cuts off and he grimaces before slamming the car door as loudly as he possibly can. They jerk apart, startled.

"Oooh!" he says. "Are you guys helping out with the clean-up, too?"

Rick walks up to the pair, a respectable distance between them now, he notes, pleased.

"I am, yeah." Beckett says, clearing her throat.

Rick looks over at Sorenson.

"I ah, have to get home." Sorenson says, scratching the black of his head. "It was nice meeting you, Castle. I'll see you later, Kate."

He gives Beckett one last wistful smile before shoving his hands in his pockets and heading to his car.

Both Rick and Kate stand next to the motorcycle, unmoving until Sorenson's Prius leaves the parking lot.

"So." Rick says after three beats of silence. "Is this your bike, Beckett?"

Beckett merely raises her eyebrows.

"It is, isn't it?" Rick traces the handlebars with a finger. "I'll warn you now, though. The biker-chick look will only be complete if you get a tattoo."

Beckett rolls her eyes.

"Let's go in. Lanie will have our heads if we wait any longer."

He nods and they begin to walk side by side.

"Does it have a name?" he wonders.

"It's not a horse, Castle."

He does his best _Yee-hah _and Beckett laughs a breathy, fragile laugh that floats into the air and disappears like smoke.

He looks over at her and she meets his eyes. He is brought back to the very first time he saw her in that dress this evening and he curses internally because he may have just developed the smallest humongous crush on Kate Beckett.

"You okay, partner?" he drawls, giving her a slight nudge.

She looks up at him, her mouth curved into the slightest smile.

"I will be."

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**A/N: **Here's the deal guys. If "Teenagers" gets up to a total of 25 reviews by Friday, I will post an interlude in Beckett's point of view. It's pretty Caskett-centred;)

So. You know what to do! Review, review, review!

Thanks for reading!


	8. Interlude: Kate Beckett rules

**A/N:** As promised, a Caskett-centric chapter. To answer the anon asking about the time period the fic has spanned so far, Rick came to Bowman around mid-September and it is now mid-November. Also, I'm warning you guys now, this is really long. Something like 2,500 words.

Buckle up, kids!

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There are three things Kate Beckett doesn't do:

1. Stay up past 9:30 the night before she is scheduled to spend time with Lanie.

2. Celebrate her birthday prematurely.

3. Celebrate her birthday with balloons.

She has done this for as long as she can remember. Even as a kid, she refused to have children's parties, opting instead to eat out with her parents and blow out a no-nonsense one-layer chocolate birthday cake with one candle at the end of the meal. Of course, she accepted presents from her parents and from her friends (because they'd already bought them and she'd feel bad if she didn't accept them), but under no circumstances had she ever tolerated balloons or early birthdays.

To her, birthday parties held before the actual day that she was born felt a little off. Like celebrating before you got to the finish line. And she hates the smugness associated with that act.

And balloons made Kate wince. There was just something about the fragility of them, she supposed, that made her distrust them as a child. And it has definitely carried over to her teenaged years.

She stares up at her ceiling, sighing. She is going to be in for a hell of a day shopping with Lanie if she doesn't get to sleep soon. She can hear her parents talking and laughing downstairs while watching television. They had both urged her to go out before she climbed the stairs to her room, exhausted from the school day. But now, lying on her bed, she doesn't feel the least bit tired.

Great.

As if on cue, her phone lights up on her nightstand to indicate a text message. Kate reaches her hand out and picks the phone up. Holding it above her face, she unlocks the screen and is surprised, pleasantly, by the fact that Rick Castle texted her.

She only met Rick two months ago, but the two of them spent so much time with each other, before school, walking to school, at school and after school at his house for tutoring, that she feels as if they'd known each other for about a year. Kate enjoys his company. He's sweet and sometimes funny. Sure he gets annoying when she's trying to teach him something and he is focused on some stupid candy game for his phone, but most of the time, she is glad that they are friends.

_This Candy Crush game is ruining my life_, he had texted her.

_Aren't you supposed to be on a date with Meredith?_

She is just about to deposit the phone on her nightstand when it lights up once again.

_Didn't work out. She had to do some rehearsing. Let's go somewhere._

Kate bites her lip. She's, well, tempted. But at the same time, she already has her pyjamas on...

_I don't know, Castle, it's 9:45. I'm already in bed._

_What are you wearing?_

She can't hold in a laugh.

_Come see for yourself._

He sends her an emoji of a man in a turban.

_What does that even mean, Castle?_

_Sorry, I pressed the wrong thing._ The message says. _I can come get you if you're serious about letting me see your nightie._

Her mouth twitches and she is surprised to realize that she is grinning like a fool at her phone.

_Sure, why not?_ She types out.

For a moment, she simply stares at the message and at the blinking cursor beside it. Kate deliberates. She's tired and she probably looks it, but what has she got to lose, really? It's not like Castle requires effort to entertain or talk to. Hell, they spend half of their time engaging in meaningless conversation anyways.

She erases her original message and sends,

_Will the Ferrari be a part of this?_

He replies almost instantly.

_No sorry. But I've got the '69 Camaro._

Oh, too easy.

_What exactly do you expect to happen on this little outing, Castle?_

_I get it. Haha, Beckett. So funny._

She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from bursting out laughing.

_So are you coming or not?_

_I don't know, Beckett, what exactly do you expect to happen on this outing?_

He got her there.

_Why don't you drive over and find out?_

She hits send before she can second guess herself, then she drops the phone beside her head, screen-down. There is a a second, a single second in which Kate feels like the world has stopped moving.

And then she moves.

"Mom!" she calls, jumping to her feet. "I'm gonna go out!"

"Sorry, Katie? I didn't quite catch that!"

"I'm going out!" Kate repeats, dragging a hoodie overtop of her tank top.

"With who?" her father sounds disbelieving.

"Rick Castle!" she tries to coax her hair into a braid, but gives up midway through and settles for piling it on top of her head in a bun. She grabs her phone off of the bed and pulls some socks on.

"At this time of night?" Jim Beckett asks incredulously as Kate jogs down the stairs and past him into the mud room where she grabs her favorite pair of moccasins,

"Yes, Dad." Kate says patiently, wriggling her foot into the shoe.

"But-" he starts, but Johanna interrupts by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's my birthday tomorrow, Dad." Kate says, smiling. "I'm just going out to celebrate a little early."

.

.

.

He rings the doorbell two seconds after she's finally managed to put her shoes on. Kate wrenches the door open before either one of her parents can get there.

Rick is standing on the other side, grinning from ear to ear. He pushes past Kate and shakes her father's hand.

"Mr. Beckett, sir. I'll have her back before dawn, I promise."

Jim Beckett looks over at his daughter, then his wife and finally back to Rick. Kate feels her heart skip a beat at the thought of her father refusing to let her go out.

"Call me Jim, Rick." is all he says.

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.

.

Kate waits until Rick isn't looking to take him in. He's wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants that hung dangerously low on his hips, but no further.

She looks away before her eyes can trace the line of his spine down to his ass.

_What are you doing, Beckett?_

"Uh, Kate." Castle says, turning around briefly to look at her. "Why exactly are you walking behind me?"

"I guess that's just how we fell into step." she answers.

He falls silent for the last few seconds it takes them to get to the car. She follows suit.

"Here we are." he says, opening the door for her after unlocking it.

"Why thank you." she replies, pausing for a moment before turning to smile at him. Her smile becomes a smirk as she turns, however, because she does so just in time to meet his eyes as they travelled back up her body.

Kate raises her eyebrows. He blushes.

"Thought there was a spider on your-" he gestures weakly towards her leg.

"My pyjamas are Spider-man, Rick."

"You know, that makes a lot more sense." he says, clearing his throat.

Her smirk lasts a while.

.

.

.

He takes her to the McDonald's ten blocks from her house. Kate follows him to a table in the corner where cars pass by the window as they're going through the drive-thru.

"I'll order," he says, "you save our spot."

She nods and he walks to the counter. She watches him.

He isn't like Will, who imposes his height on people and uses it to invade their space. No, Castle almost slouches, bent over to hear what people are saying or to get a better look at what they're showing him.

Castle's...warm, caring, not going to abandon her.

She breaths sharply in through her nose.

_Where did that come from?_

He has a girlfriend. Right. Meredith.

But she isn't here right now, is she?

_Beckett stop._

Before she can surprise herself any more, Castle returns, a tray full of burgers in his hands.

"Castle." she says. "What are you doing?"

"Trust me."

And she does. She trusts him as he spreads open one of the wrappers and starts to build a burger pyramid. And then he takes a box of candles out from his pocket.

"Castle." she starts.

He looks up from what he's doing, a boyish smile on his face.

"Don't tell me you thought I forgot your birthday." he says.

She doesn't say anything.

He proceeds to place seventeen candles on the top-most burger and then he lights them all.

Kate just looks at him.

"Make a wish," he says.

She makes a wish. But not for her, for him.

She wishes this boy can find his mother.

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.

.

"Are we going to go get your tattoo, biker chick?" he asks, midway through his third burger.

"Next year." Kate promises, wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

"I'll hold you to that." he says.

Kate fiddles with her napkin for a moment before reaching across to grab the pickles he's abandoned on the wrapper of his burger. He watches her as she eats it, the look in his eye makes her insides flutter.

"So, how's Meredith?" she asks, taking care to swallow before speaking.

"She's alright."

"She your girlfriend?" Kate asks, ignoring the weird lump in her throat.

"She doesn't seem too keen on it, no." he grimaces. "She says we can continue to 'have fun' but she's focusing on her career."

"Ouch."

"Yeah." he shrugs. "I don't really know what to do about it."

Kate's heart quickens. He looks like a lost little boy.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Castle says. "Enough about me. It's your birthday."

She smiles and nudges his foot under the table. She's happy she made the decision to let him take her out tonight. She hasn't laughed this much since...well, Will.

Beckett sighs, leaning back in her seat, she looks around the restaurant, taking in the subtle Christmas decorations. Her attention drifts over to a group behind Castle and she is distracted for a moment.

"You know, I have your present in the trunk of the Camaro." he says, trying to bring her back into their conversation.

"Is it a dead body?"

He looks horrified.

"You can't just _say_ that. We're in public!" Kate wants to laugh at his ridiculous stage whisper but then she finally recognizes the group. They're Bowman kids. The rich kids of Bowman actually. The boy with a cap on, Denny. He was one of Will's friends. The girl beside him, Lindsay, she and Kate used to get manicures done together. And they all abandoned her when Will left. To top it off, they were now looking at her and Castle and their burger-cake like they were freaks.

_The hell with it._

"I hope you had the good sense to not forget the tarp." she says, biting the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. "I paid good money for that car mat in the trunk."

"Well, I'm sorry!" he's smiling now, but Kate is determined to drive the group away from their space.

"You know, Rick, just 'cause you were the one to pull the trigger, doesn't mean your responsibilities are now over! You can't just shoot and then lay the rest of the responsibility on me!"

He knocks their knees together under the table, and she knows he appreciates the double meaning of her words.

"W-Wait a second! I thought the baby was Hank's?"

She gives them a moment to digest that before adopting a high-pitched almost Southern accent.

"No, Rick. It's yours."

He's got a big shit-eating grin then and she knows he's going to say something else that will finally, finally drive the group away.

"But, Kate." he says, raising his voice. And the group is openly staring now. "We're cousins!"

They make their displeasure known as they leave. Lindsay shoots her looks while murmuring the word freak over and over again and Denny just saunters out of there with all the dignity that comes with wearing pants practically around his knees. The others follow, quietly and with Kate not caring enough to give them a second glance. And all thoughts of Will in that moment, leave her mind in the same fashion.

They sit in silence until the last kid shuffles out of the restaurant and then they both burst out laughing.

"That was great." he says, high-fiving her. "I love spontaneous little shows."

"I was just making us out to be murderers, but you swooped in and made us look like we're committing incest _and_ contributing to the epidemic that is teen pregnancy."

That gets them both going again.

"You know them, don't you?" Rick asks her when their laughter dies down.

She screws up her face.

"Something like that."

He nods. She finds that she likes that. Likes him knowing when not to push her for information.

"They didn't see my face at all." he says seriously. "I figure next time you want to scandalize them, I can be Uncle Reginald who sells you drugs in exchange for you committing murders for him."

"So I'm a hit woman paid in the currency of marijuana?"

"You're also a hooker."

She laughs at that. After he polishes off his fifth burger ("Stop looking at me like that, Beckett, I'm really hungry."), they re-wrap the remaining ten.

"What are we going to do with these?" Kate asks, putting them in her hoodie pocket.

"There were a group of homeless men at the mouth of the freeway entrance." he replies. "I think they'd appreciate it."

_Why is he perfect?_

"I'm really not." Rick laughs and Kate bites her lip._  
_

She said that out loud?

"Anyways, you wanna get going? I want to give you your present."

.

.

.

She gets the honor of handing the burgers to the men during a red light. Some of them ask her for change, others call her a gift from God. But they all say thank you multiple times.

Castle then takes her to the big hill beside Bowman where the view makes her breath catch in her throat. Why is this town so much more beautiful all of a sudden?

He leaves her for a moment and she hears the trunk open and close. When he re-enters the car, he's got a rectangular box in his hand. She is surprised when he hands it to her without preamble. He usually doesn't shut up one second.

"You didn't have to get me anything." she says, fingering the purple bow he'd stuck onto it.

He scoffs.

"Tell me that after you open it."

She opens the box and immediately falls in love with its contents.

"They're lamps." Castle explains. And here she thought he wasn't going to talk. "It's really cool because they can just sit on your desk or hang from the wall. And yeah, they're shaped like hot-air balloons-"

Kate looks at the beautiful wooden carvings in her hands. He's given her balloons at 11:57 p.m. on November 16th, a day before she and Lanie are scheduled to go shopping for her birthday.

"Castle." she says. "I love them."

He grins and she takes the opportunity to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kate." he replies. "Happy Birthday."

.

.

.

It takes her a few days to realize that the feeling she gets in her belly when she sees Castle after that night has nothing to do with the memory of the two burgers she ate. Or the looks she's still getting from a bunch of kids at school who are convinced she is pregnant with her cousin's baby. No.

It seems like she's got a bit of a crush.

.

.

.

**A/N: **Thanks for taking my bribe at the end of last chapter. I hope this was worth it. Can you believe that, at first, I intended the whole gang to be a part of this? Something about reviews makes me abandon plot and just write Caskett being cute together.

I only get paid in the currency of reviews.

Many thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story.


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